Once upon a time a little princess took her first breath in a far away land. Although perfect in every way, her parents found themselves unable to take care of her so they took her to the orphanage, hoping she would be adopted and have a better life. While waiting, she lived with a Korean foster family who compassionately watched over her for many months. One day an American family was given the opportunity to invite her into their family and they brought forth a gigantic, enthusiastic and instantaneous,"YES!" With two delightful sons at home, they also longed for a daughter.
The day came for her to arrive in America so the family packed themselves into their gray Chevy station wagon and drove to the airport. The plane landed and once all the passengers had slowly exited, a friend of the family walked in and gently took the little princess from her escort. She hugged her and tenderly whispered, "Hello little one! Let's go meet your family!" Walking carefully with the child in her arms, she headed into the waiting area. The little two-year-old was handed over to her new dad, who passed her on to her new mom, who let her down on the floor to run and play and "work" the crowd with her laughing, throwing and running. When the time was right, her mom took one hand and her dad took the other and together, with her brothers, walked out to start life together, now as a family of five.

Hannah adjusted well to her parents and those two big protective brothers who played and laughed with her. The family was happy, being completed by this one they had been praying for.

Twenty five years later, at age twenty-seven, Hannah has become a beautiful, talented and creative young woman. Married to Greg for five years, she delights in their friendship and cherishes the life they have built. These days she finds herself devoted to a whole list of interesting and innovative projects: Moby, their teddy bear dog, boot camp style exercise, eating great food often prepared by her husband, decorating their cape cod style home, and managing her wedding photography business. Her job with Kids on Course gives ample opportunity to be challenged, to learn new things and to find inspiration in the resilient kids and families she gets to interact with every day.

Never to be bored, Hannah always has some plan up her sleeve. It could be a birthday party for her dog or an amazing surprise for her mother! It could be a baby shower for her sister-in-law or a Norwex party for her friend. One might find her planning a monthly international dinner, or she might show up at a blog site, Corridor Characters, adding her amazing photography and planning skills to this nobody-is-normal site. Loving fashion, she might be wearing an elephant decorated sweater or long dangly earrings with teal feathers, or have her hair colored on the tips and cut in a new fashionable style. One never knows what kind of innovative bouquet of flowers will show up from her husband at her desk or what fun restaurant they might find to celebrate an anniversary, a birthday or a friend coming through town.

Hannah is the daughter we hoped for, the one who we are proud to call our own. Thankful to have her and Greg living right here in Cedar Rapids, we embrace our moments together as a marvelous gift. For today, we say Happy Birthday, Hannah. We love you with everything we've got and are SO THANKFUL it was YOU who came home to us. You have blessed us with your trust, respect, kindness, love, and, of course, your help (how would we ever know how to make a phone call or send an email with out you??) I love sitting with you while you unfold your thoughts, ideas and dreams, stopping everything so we can drink coffee together, meet at the library or just sit on our kitchen floor. I love sharing life with you and find much joy in being your mother.

Happy Birthday, dear one. May we share many more as the years go by. You are more than precious to me. And yes, I still view you as a princess, sent from a Kingdom with a good King who loves us with a mighty Love and shows it by sending us incredible gifts.

Do you need a warm and safe place in which to rest your soul? Here you will find a collection of nurturing stories from the life I find myself living. I hope you can glean encouragement from your time here. Thanks so much for stopping by.